Veteran journalist Paul Bauman, based in Sacramento, covers Northern California professional, collegiate and junior tennis. Contact him at norcaltennisczar@gmail.com and follow him on Twitter @norcaltenczar.

Sunday, March 11, 2018

Anisimova, 16, shocks Kvitova at Indian Wells

Amanda Anisimova, playing in the Sacramento Challenger
last July, became the first 16-year-old to reach the fourth
round at Indian Wells since Viktoriya Kutuzova of Ukraine
in 2005. Photo by Rob Vomund

Wild card Amanada Anisimova, who won the $60,000 Sacramento Challenger at 15 last July, ousted ninth-seeded Petra Kvitova 6-2, 6-4 today in the third round of the BNP Paribas Open at Indian Wells.
Anisimova, from Aventura, Fla., became the first 16-year-old to reach the fourth round at Indian Wells since wild card Viktoriya Kutuzova of Ukraine in 2005.
Kvitova, a two-time Wimbledon champion, had her winning streak ended at 14 matches. After receiving a first-round bye, the 28-year-old Czech left-hander outlasted Yulia Putintseva of Kazakhstan 6-7 (4), 7-6 (3), 6-4 in 3 hours, 17 minutes, the longest match on the WTA tour this year.
Anisimova became the third young American woman to pull off a big upset at Indian Wells this year. In the second round, 22-year-old qualifier Sachia Vickery knocked off third-seeded Garbine Muguruza, a two-time Grand Slam champion, and 24-year-old wild card Danielle Collins eliminated 15th-seeded Madison Keys, last year's U.S. Open runner-up to Sloane Stephens and Bank of the West Classic champion at Stanford.
Caroline Dolehide, 19, almost joined the list, falling to top seed and 2015 BNP champion Simona Halep 1-6, 7-6 (3), 6-2.
Stephens, a Fresno product seeded 13th, beat wild card Victoria Azarenka, the 2012 and 2016 BNP champion, 6-1, 7-5 in a second-round match that had been postponed by rain. Azarenka, who remains alive in doubles, had not played a tournament since Wimbledon last July because of a custody battle over her 1-year-old son, Leo.
On the men's side, qualifier Taro Daniel of Japan ousted 10th seed and five-time champion Novak Djokovic 7-6 (3), 4-6, 6-1 in the second round. Djokovic had minor surgery on his right elbow after losing to 21-year-old Hyeon Chung of South Korea in the fourth round of the Australian Open in January.
No. 18 seed Sam Querrey, a 30-year-old San Francisco native, topped Mischa Zverev of Germany 6-4, 7-5. After two rounds, Querrey, No. 8 Jack Sock and 20-year-old Taylor Fritz are the only remaining Americans in men's singles.
Anisimova, who won the U.S. Open girls singles title last September, is scheduled to play fifth-seeded Karolina Pliskova on Tuesday for a quarterfinal berth.
Anisimova was born in
Freehold Township, N.J., to Russians Konstantin Anisimov and Olga
Anisimova. Amanda speaks Russian at home but as of last fall had never been
to her parents' homeland.